Sunset
by Captain Cranium
Summary: Lots of things happen at the time of sunset. PreOOTP HG.


**Title: **Sunset

**Summary: **Lots of things happen about the time of sunset

**Type: **Pre-OOTP, AU, H/G

**Genre: **General

**Rating: **PG/K++

**Status: **Complete. May be used as a prologue to another story.

It was a lovely, fairy-tale sunset. The sun was a fiery-red ball, emitting red, golden and orange rays of light in all directions. And Ginny Weasley was, as per her custom, sitting on the edge of the grove of trees where the Weasley boys played Quidditch. They wouldn't let her play, of course, because she was a girl (and because nobody wanted to sit out --- they had one less broom than their number). But sometimes, when they weren't around or were busy for whatever reason, she would sneak out with Harry and they'd have a jolly good romp about the place. Ginny delighted in these little excursions, and she knew Harry enjoyed them immensely too.

Harry was, as usual, frustrated and kept in the dark about this whole Voldemort business. Personally, Ginny thought this was nuts. How d'you expect a chap to defeat an evil Dark Lord when he doesn't know anything about what's going on in the world? Dumbledore was cuckoo, she thought. Of course, Ron and Hermoine believed him to be some kind of demi-god who could do no wrong. They would hear no evil of him, and whatever he did was 'best for Harry.' But Ginny had no such qualms. Often, she and Harry got together, and thought of all sorts of nasty expletives to use on him, and if they were up to it, on Snape and Malfoy. Her favourite so far was 'barmy old codger,' of Dobby's invention.

There was a loud roar behind her. Harry had, she supposed, caught the apple that was supposed to be the snitch. Sure enough, it was followed by muffled thuds as several feet landed on the ground. Harry appeared behind her from the grove.

"Hey!" he grinned, ruffling up her hair.

"Stop it!" she swatted his arm. "Won again?

"Do I ever lose?"

"You lose to me."

Harry snorted. "You were on my Firebolt, and I was on Bill's old Comet One Hundred. That thing's so ancient, I'm surprised it can even do fifty!"

"Always the broom's fault, isn't it Harry?" she asked, chuckling. He smiled, ruffled up her hair again, and sat down besides her. As he did so, Ron popped up behind them.

"Coming, you two?" he asked, his suspicious eyes traveling to how close their hands lay.

Harry shrugged. "No, not just yet. You go on."

"You're not supposed to stay out alone," he pointed out. Ginny growled.

"And what am I? A vegetable?" she asked angrily.

"Er …"

"I'm here, and Harry's with me. You can go tell Dumble-face that."

Ron looked enraged. "You can't call him that!"

"I can and I will. Now get lost."

Her eyes we flashing dangerously, and Harry could see she was itching to reach for her wand. But Ron didn't seem to take the hint.

"But you can't protect him!"

"Oh, shut up! I could easily beat you in a duel. Besides, if Voldy pops up here, what can you do about it?" she said furiously. Ron winced at the Dark Lord's name and took a step back. "You can't even listen to his bloody name without flinching."

"Fine, but I'm telling Mum," he turned around abruptly and half-walked, half-ran to the Burrow.

"Tattle-tale," hissed Ginny under her breath. She turned to Harry. "C'mon, let's go for a walk. Mum'll be here any second now."

Harry nodded mutely and got up. She slipped her small hand into his.

"Sorry 'bout that," she whispered.

Harry laughed. "Don't worry. I enjoyed it." He squeezed her hand gently. "Thanks."

They walked in silence to another little hidden nook of Ginny's. Behind them, he thought he could hear Hermione call his name.

Harry sighed wistfully.

"I can't trust anyone these days."

"Why not?" Ginny asked softly.

"Everyone's reporting to Dumbledore," he murmured, eyes downcast. Ginny leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. She was somewhat surprised when Harry blushed profusely, and snuck his arm around her waist. But it did serve its purpose, and Harry brightened up considerably. He didn't look half as sullen now.

"I don't report to him."

"You're the only one who doesn't. You and Padfoot."

He had told her about Padfoot sometime back, and introduced her to him when he dropped by. Padfoot had had a royal time teasing them, and trying to give them The Talk.

They suddenly fell silent as Ron's voice sounded too near to them. Fortunately, he passed without noticing them. And, as they stared at the sunset, Harry whispered, more to himself than to her, "Reminds me of her …"

"Who? Your mystery girl?" she asked innocently.

He looked startled, as if he didn't know he'd said that out loud. The tips of his ears turned pink, kind of like Ron's. Then, realizing that he had to give some kind of response, he nodded slowly.

Ginny smiled at his discomposure, and looked at the flaming streaks that emanated from the sun. Suddenly, the wind blew a stray lock of her hair into her eye. And, as she looked at the red strands of hair, and at the red sunset, a look of realization dawned on her face, followed quickly by a look of delight and jubilation. Grinning to herself, she leaned in against him.

**AN: Well, liked it? It's pretty random. Originally, it was supposed to a fluff fic, about 500 words, with no mention of Dumbledore and Dark Lords, but I got carried away. Not as much humour as I intended either. It's not as good as I would like it to be, but, I'm really not in the zone right now. Subject to further improvement. Like I said earlier, it can be used as a prologue to a longer story, but I don't think I'm up to it. If you want to use it, you are more than welcome to. Just give me the link of your new fic.**

**Cheers,**

**Captain Cranium**

**Ps. Do review and tell me ways in which I can improve. Constructive criticism especially welcomed!**


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